Evaluating a mindfulness-based group intervention for adults with intellectual disabilities

Power, N, Rawlings, GH ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4962-3551 and Bennett, C, 2022. Evaluating a mindfulness-based group intervention for adults with intellectual disabilities. Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, 16 (3), pp. 135-146. ISSN 2044-1282

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Abstract

Purpose: There is growing evidence examining mindfulness-based interventions (MI) for people with intellectual disabilities (IDs). As discussed in this paper, MI may be particularly suited for people with ID given high rates of difficulties in identifying and regulating emotions and as this approach may rely less on cognitive ability compared to other therapies. This study aims to assess the acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of a six-session MI group [the Coping Well Group (CWG)] delivered within routine clinical practice.

Design/methodology/approach: Six separate cohorts (n = 25) of adults with ID attended CWG. Quantitative data were collected from service users, including a pre- and post-quality of life (QoL) measure and qualitative data from group facilitators.

Findings: Roughly one-half (53%) of service users invited to the group attended at least one session, with low levels of dropout observed among group attendees. A significant improvement in QoL was reported demonstrating a small effect (d = 0.46, p = 0.022) after attending the group. Most service users (72%) were referred to the CWG for help managing difficult emotions. One-half (44%) of attendees required individual therapy after attending the group. Limitations of the evaluation and potential future research are discussed.

Originality/value: The current evaluation contributes a practice-based service evaluation of an MI group for people with ID and mental health difficulties to the currently limited evidence base. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the first studies to investigate the impact of group psychological interventions collecting data across cohorts and assessing QoL, a more general measure of well-being than has been used previously.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities
Creators:	Power, N., Rawlings, G.H. and Bennett, C.
Publisher:	Emerald
Date:	21 October 2022
Volume:	16
Number:	3
ISSN:	2044-1282
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1108/AMHID-01-2022-0001 DOI 1542057 Other
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	13 Dec 2022 15:53
Last Modified:	13 Dec 2022 15:53
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/47653

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